As the rector at Leuven, Adrian Adriaenssens frequently consulted Ignatius on a variety of questions. In this letter, Ignatius addresses Adriaenssens’s problem of how to provide the proper food for his scholastics who are of different nationalities and physical constitutions. While Ignatius recommends having all get used to the ordinary local diet, he is clear about providing generous exceptions for those in poor health. It was often the case, that after giving general guidelines, Ignatius observes that particular cases are to be left to a discerning judgment.
For more sources from Ignatius, please visit the Letters of Ignatius of Loyola.
Jhus.
The peace of Christ.
We received Your Reverence’s letter of March 31, and our brief response to its main contents is as follows: We are all for frugality, for economy, and for giving a good example to others in matters of food, to the extent that this is possible; but we do not think it good to cut back from what the physician prescribes as necessary for the recovery or preservation of health (although he needs to be mindful of our profession of poverty). This much in general. That it is good, moreover, for a person who has health and a good constitution to get used to more ordinary and more easily obtained foods and drink accords with both reason and our own Institute, which prescribes that our members have an ordinary diet. Therefore, if health permits someone to habituate himself even to water, beer, or cider where these are the usual beverages, he should drink these and not—with more expense and less edification—imported wines. Nevertheless, there may be some whose health is frail, such as your Master Adrian Candidus [Whitte], Master Bernard [Olivier], or Master Pedro de Ribadeneira. As long as these men treat their frail bodies well, they will have enough strength for works of piety and charity in the help of souls and edification of their neighbor; if they do not, they fall sick and prove of little benefit to their neighbor. Indeed, they can become a burden, as happened with Masters Bernard and Adrian in Italy. I certainly do not think these men should be required to get used to cheaper food or drink except insofar as it can be done without prejudice to their health. Indeed, I would rather see the servants of God—persons ready to bear the heaviest burdens for Christ—enjoying these comforts supplied by God rather than other people who contribute less to the common good. However, we must make sure that the superfluous does not slip in under the guise of the necessary, or the pleasurable under that of the healthful, and that a praiseworthy use does not become an abuse. And if disedification should be caused by the public eating or drinking of things prescribed as necessary by the physicians, then they should be taken in private. Thus, avoiding scandal, we should do what is needed for health. So much can be said in general. Prudence will descend to particular cases, discerning them after weighing all the circumstances.
May the Lord give us the light of holy discernment to make use of creatures in the light of the Creator.
Amen.
Rome, May 12, 1556
Spiritual men do not think it strange or reprehensible to have different foods and drinks taken at the same table, as good or poor health require. However, where weaker persons are present who might take scandal, these necessary foods can be taken in a separate place. We should keep in mind Paul’s words about not scandalizing the weak.
Original Source (English translation):
Ignatius of Loyola: Letters and Instructions, ed. John W. Padberg, et al. St. Louis, Mo.: Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1996, “To Adrian Adriaenssens, Rome, May 12, 1556,” pg. 661–662.